All posts tagged how religion shapes worldviews

Happiness studies, sometimes also called positive psychology, is very trendy in university social-science departments these days. But lately, “fear studies” would seem to be more appropriate.

As it happens, Daniel Treisman, a political scientist at UCLA, has just produced a paper that would fall under that description. He identifies “clear geographic patterns” in the distribution of fear in Europe—and to a lesser extent in Asia.

The study drew on six surveys, conducted by various groups between 2000 and 2005, which touched on such subjects as nuclear conflicts and accidents, terrorism, organized crime, medical accidents, genetically modified food, avian flu, and mad-cow disease. …

Biographies

Gary Rosen is the editor of Review and the former managing editor of Commentary magazine. His articles and reviews have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. He is the author of "American Compact: James Madison and the Problem of Founding" and the editor of "The Right War? The Conservative Debate on Iraq."